Day 2

For the last couple of years I've taken a day or two to hunt with Steve(an OLD friend of mine.) We started this year off with opening day. Of course we had the rain to deal with but we also had to deal with all of his huntn land being under water from the river being out. Now huntn the river bottoms always has good turkeys and big misquotes but this year we got big waves!! We decide to start out on high ground on the 1st day, and we hear some turkeys and see some hunters,not a good day, but at least the rain quit. Day 2 didn't start out much better with the temp.down the turkeys were froze up at first light so we went for more COFFEE!! Well about 8:00 we spotted some big O river bottom hammerheads on the levee and slipped in. Got to about 20y and......and IT WAS DONE !!!! Our first hammerhead ON VIDEO!!! THANK YOU GOD!!


Had a great time huntn with an OLD friend and hey...we finally got it done.

Opening day

I was planning on hunting this morning, 1st day of turkey season, but I watched the weather forecast the night before and they were calling for heavy rain and storms, so I went to work. Mistake. A little after daylight the clouds broke up and it stopped raining. I couldn't take it, i had to get in the woods. So I left work and headed for my property in martin county. I only have 52 acres so the chances of birds being there are usually 50 50 at best. There are always birds in the area but catching them on my property is just kinda luck. Gotta be there the right day. Well, let me tell you....today was the right day!! I heard one gobble 100 yards from my truck on the 1st call. I tried to set up on him but he was just too close. I heard another one answering my calls on my back ridge, so I went after him. turns out it was two longbeards! And on the 1st set up I had them coming quick. I decided to try and film my own hunt and I had the camera on the tripod ready to go when the two strutter's showed up at 30 yards. Only thing was I only saw one off them through the view finder and zoomed in on him. When I went back to the gun to take aim I only saw one birds bright blue and red head, so I put it on him and letter eat. So the bird I shot was just off camera by a foot or so. You can see him strutting on the video, I just zoomed too tight. Hard to see through the view finder. Anyway I think we can still make a good hunt out of it. And I loved it!! Awesome hunt! First bird taken from my land. 21 lbs. 24mm spurs.

Thanks, as always, to God!

I'm heading south in the morning to film my older brother Mark on his property. Should be lots of fun!

Easter Gift

What a wet, rainy weekend for youth turkey season here in Indiana! Not the best conditions for turkey hunting, especially where Drake and I are hunting, mostly big woods. I would have loved to have had a field to hunt and just sit in the blind and wait the rain out, not the case. Saturday we heard some gobbling and set up on some birds that were heading to a field that we don't have permission to hunt, so they gobbled and headed to there strut area. Then it rained and we got lots of wet. Kent was on camera and had to leave around lunch time. Drake and I hunted all day. We had 1 tom come in around 4:30 but he snuck in from the left and spotted us, Drake just couldn't get turned in time to get off a good shot. Easter Sunday we got in the woods around 11:00 and around 1230 got an old tom to answer. We made a half circle on him to get on the ridge he was on and set up where the woods opened up. After a couple calls the old boy was in our lap. At 30 yards he spotted us and started to leave. As he was slipping away and I thought the game was up, Drake picked an opening and at 50 yards put a load of #4's in his head and neck! To say he was excited is a big understatement! After some celebration and hugs n hi fives we looked the bird over and found some of the biggest spurs I've ever seen. 42mm!!! that's 1 5/8 inch!! I thought I got the hunt on film but when I reviewed it it was blank, the head on the cam needed cleaned so I didn't get it. But it was a great hunt anyway. I am so proud of Drake. He made a tough shot on a bird that was getting the heck out of there. What an Easter gift from God! I'm very thankful.

Youth Turkey season

Well youth turkey season didn't start out the way I had planned. Mother nature had her own idea. Storms hit around 4:30 it was still raining when we hit the woods at 6:40. We hit the woods and decided to let mother nature do some natural locating for us but that didn't work out to well. We tried to locate birds but we wasn't having any luck. Finally we heard a bird gobble but it was off in the distance. We must have walked 3 miles on that first set. We left around 11:00 and ate lunch. We went back out to a different area after lunch a found a lot of hens and a few jakes. Jackson was really wanting a big tom but we just could not find any. Around 1:00 we were lucky enough to stumble upon 3 jakes that were with 2 hens and Jackson decided that he was going to shoot a jake. He made a great shot. The bird was out at about 30 yards and he took the old single shot 20ga with a modified barrel and hammered the bird. He was really pumped. I wasn't lucky enough to get it on video because of the rain and I did not want to take a chance on messing up my camera. The jake had a 3 1/2 beard and weighed 16lbs. Where the spurs were supposed to be it was only nubs. I enjoyed being out in the woods with my boys. Pop realized how much he was out of shape after walking about 8 miles on the first day. I would also like to thank a guy from work Jon VonPilsen for going out with us and calling. On the way to the check in station we saw 3 long beards strutting out in a field along side the road and Jackson said where were you guys all morning. Just had to laugh. Great day in the woods enjoying all Gods creation.

Youth Turkey 2011

Well its almost here! Its the evening before the youth turkey hunt. I look forward to the start of Indiana turkey season as much as I did Christmas when I was a kid! I'm taking my 9 year old son Drake tomorrow and Kent is going to be on the camera. If the weather cooperates we might get lucky and get Drake shooting an ol slob nobbler. Hope its not too rainy to film. Drake shot my 12 gauge a few days ago, 3 1/2 inch #4's, he smoked the turkey target at 45 yards. He handled the 12 really well, but I'm still gonna have him use a shooting stick. He's really looking forward to getting out there and hunting. He shot his first turkey last year with a 20 gauge with a modified choke. He had to pass on a couple of shots because they were just out of range for the 20 .....different ball game this year. I have a lot more confidence in his abilities this year, he's growing up too fast.

Good luck to the rest of the BareBones Crew!

Be safe and enjoy these times with our youth.....they pass so quickly.

Hopefully I'll be posting a good story or two about this weekend.

What a great weekend to be in the woods....thanks to God for everything.

Need some contributions to the blog!!!!!!

If were going to keep this blog going, we need some more contributions. I see Brian, Dave and Myself as regular contributers, but where's Kent? We all know Kent likes to talk, so blogging should come very natural to him. lol. Saying that blogging is not your thing is not gonna cut it brother! ha ha

Also, let all of your friends know about our site so they can contribute to the blog too. We need more followers. I'll be telling everyone I know to join up and blog with us. This is a great way to talk to people and let them know what we're all doing.

Come on fellers, lets keep this blog active!!!

Another successful Turkey trip in Kentucky

Well, we just returned from another trip to Christian county Kentucky. Myself, Dave, Scott, and Ethan Rennirt met up with Larry Deaton for a little turkey hunting. Dave went with Ethan, and Scott was behind the camera. I took Larry, and unfortunately, we didn't have a camera. (We only have one at the moment). Wouldn't you know it, 25 minutes into our hunt, 2 longbeards walk out of the woods 40 yards from the blind. Larry lets them seperate, and at 25 yards smokes his first bird of the season. Congratulations to Larry. We always have a lot of fun hunting together. We don't usually have these quick hunts, so this was a pleasant change.

The weather was horrible the first day. Highs in the low 40's, 30 mile an hour winds, rain...........not the best turkey hunting conditions. Ethan, Scott and Dave hunted their rears off. After sitting most of the morning, they all came in for lunch, and then headed back out. After another loooooong sit, at 6:00, they had a jake headed for the decoys. At about 25 yards, Ethan drilled his second turkey ever. Scott did a great job capturing this moment on film. Nothing quite like filming your own son. Congratulations to Ethan, Dave and Scott for sticking it out in some horrible conditions. Great job Ethan!!

Well, Dave and I discussed for hours if we were going to buy our out of state licenses and hunt ourselves. Finally, after a long discussion, we drove to Wal-Mart and bought our tags. We decided that I would hunt first. Dave was on the camera. We headed out early, and shortly after first light had one gobbling 150 yards away. We set-up on a small food plot, and hoped for the best. Well, this tom put on a show. He gobbled many times and came strutting straight to the decoy. At about 34 yards, I pulled the trigger and had my first Bluegrass bird on the ground. Just one of those classic hunts. Dave did a great job filming the hunt, and I'm sure glad he was there to share this moment with me.

Dave was up next, but unfortunately Dave got the call that his father-in-law had passed away. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dave's wife Rita and her family. Needless to say, we cut our hunt short so Dave could get home and be with his family. My heart goes out to all of them, its never easy losing a loved one, even when it's expected. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Again, you can never take these days for granted. I thank God for allowing me to share these moments with my family and friends. God has blessed me a whole lot more than I deserve, and I'm eternally grateful.

Thanks again to Scott for allowing us to hunt this special place. Also, thanks to Kevin Deaton, Mike, and Dale. We appreciate you guys more than you know.

Next up is Indiana's season. Can't wait!

Stay tuned, hopefully there's more to come.

..........and remember, There's no such thing as a bad day hunting!

Back to KY: opening weekend

We'll it's back to Ky tomorrow for the barebones crew.Be there until monday,unless Ethan&Larry smoke a couple long beards early.All I know is i'm fired up about the whole turkey season,it don't matter where its at.I'm still pumped about Hannahs bird on the 2nd of this month.The way it's going,this could be the best turkey season to date for the barebones crew.With great friends getting together,you can't go wrong.The people in the hunting &fishing industry have to be the best people,or a close 2nd that's out there.Fishing has been going good.Fred & myself have won a little pocket change.Patoka is looking good,lots of grass is showing up.Should be a great year on the water.God bless ,shoot straight,cast it on there heads.

Day at the lake

My youngest boy and I spent Sunday at Patoka lake. We were trying to catch bass early, but just like Brian said, I ain't much of a fisherman. After becoming a little discouraged, we decided to go after some crappie. On Austin's first cast, he caught a really nice 1. Well, we fished all day and caught about 40 small crappie. Austin had a blast and that's whats most important to me.

We did see many carp splashing around in the shallows though, so maybe between turkey hunts, I'll have to bring the bowfishing equipment out of the closet.

Like always, I thank God for a great day with my boy Austin.

Now, I'm ready to hit the woods again and start chasing them longbeards!

"One proud papa"

Let me start out first and foremost by thanking Scott,Kevin,Dale,and Mike for allowing Hannah and myself to hunt on their awesome property in kentucky.This past weekend was a perfect example of what happens when good friends get together.Ok here we go,saturday morning it was Brian,Drake,Hannah(my 7 yr daughter)and myself.We hadalongbeard gobbling on roost right off the bat.Brian and myself would call at the same time and he could not handle it.7 hens flew in the field and 10 minutes later big boy showed up strutting the whole way to the decoys.Poor hannah just froze.She just could not get on him and he followed the hens to the other side of the field.After a short lunch break we got back in the blind at 11:00am.We sat till 3:00pm calling every 10 minutes until finally 2 jakes showed up at the decoys.I got hannah set up on her bipod and told her to pick one out.She had me thinking she wasn't going to shoot again because she was just aiming and didn't even have her finger on the trigger.But finaly she let her little 20 eat and her first bird was on the ground!!!!To say the least,I was pumped.I'll have to say ol' dad's eyes had a few tears in them.It was a hunt that I will never forget.Congrats to Austin on his longbeard earlier that same day.Thanks to Brian and Drake for hanging out with Hannah and myself.

Hills of Kentucky

What an awesome weekend in God's country in the hills of Kentucky!! I knew we were in for a great time on opening weekend of youth turkey season in Ky but it turned out to be really something special. Drake and I were lucky enough to get to share a once in a lifetime memory with Dave and his 7 year old daughter Hannah as she harvested her first wild turkey. Thanks Dave and Hannah for letting us be a part of that. I reviewed the footage and we have some great stuff to work with. I know its early and theres alot of hunting to go but I think this could be the best hunt of the video. That's a challenge to myself....and to the crew.........to try and film a hunt that is even better this season! Good job Austin on your Ky longbeard! Thank you Scott for letting us go along. You guys have a really nice place down there. I cant wait to get back in the woods! My goal this season is to get Drake on film shooting one.

Kentucky Youth Turkey Season Starts with a BANG!

Well, we just got back from our youth turkey hunting adventure in Kentucky, and let me tell you, it went GREAT!

Dave took his 7 year old daughter Hannah with Brian on the camera, (Brian's boy Drake tagged along too). Just a couple of Dads with their kids. Hannah had a big tom fly off roost and come within 19 yards. We think that maybe she got a little "turkey fever" because she just couldn't seem to pull the trigger. After coming back for lunch, the crew set out again for the same location, (Imagine, all 4 in one blind)! After sitting for a long while, 2 jakes made their way to the decoys, and after a few tense moments, Hannah had her first turkey on the ground. I'll let Dave and Brian fill in all the small details. I couldn't be happier for Dave and Hannah. Its a rare moment to capture these firsts on film and Brian did a great job filming the hunt. Congratulations Hannah! Now she will be hooked for life!

Well next, I took my youngest boy Austin along with Scott Rennirt on the camera. We chased turkeys for most of the morning with very little luck. We came back for lunch and Scott decided to go with his boy Taran and my oldest boy Kurtis to try to film them. Austin and I decided to hunt an elevated blind overlooking a food plot for the rest of the day. Austin was the hunter with old fat Dad on the camera. We put the decoys out and settled in. I yelped 4 times and a tom gobbled about 100 yards away. Austin and I switched seats, and about 5 minutes later the big boy was within sight walking down an old logging road right toward us. At about 25 yards, Austin took aim, and his first Kentucky bird was on the ground, all on film. I couldn't tell you how proud I am of Austin. God has sure blessed me with some great kids. It never gets old to me. Making these memories with our kids is what its all about.

These times where the Dads and their kids get to spend quality time together are just priceless. I have 2 great kids, a great group of friends, and a great brother to share these times with, ...............I am certainly blessed.

Scotts boy Taran had several opportunities at jakes and decided to pass. We'll be working hard to get him one in a couple of weeks!

Anyway, I would like to thank Scott Rennirt, Kevin Deaton, Dale and Mike for letting us tag along and film these hunts. Your generosity is appreciated more than you know.

I would most certainly like to thank God for giving all of us the opportunity to spend quality time with each other in the great outdoors.

Just a great way to start the season! Stay tuned, hopefully there will be a few more exciting hunts this season!

Stay safe, and remember, there is no such thing as a bad day hunting!

new man

Glad to be one of the newest members of the blog world. Thanks to all the guys who let me be a part of this great web spot. I am going to try and do justice to the site. Had a great time this past weekend with Pointerman hunting birds. My 11 year old got his first chance at bird hunting and was lucky enough to kill a nice pheasant. I know this is going to be a great sport for him to stick with. We are going to try our hand at turkey hunting this season. He has had some success at deer hunting. He has taken 2 does and 1 buck all with a gun. This year he is dead set on killing a deer with his bow. We have not been seeing any turkey back in the woods where we deer hunt but the deer have been coming to what is left of the 4 food plots we have. this goes out to Dave "GO BULLDOGS!!!!" That's about it for my first blog. Again thanks for letting me become apart of this Crew. Mack